BETTER TRANSITION DEFENSE

To see the fast-break points margin being 15-0 in the first quarter wasn’t all that surprising. But for it to be Boston and not Washington opening the game like that was definitely a new thing in this series. “We weren’t getting back in transition from the corners,” said Wizards head coach Scott Brooks. “When you give a very good team transition points, it’s going to be hard to keep up with them.” Washington did a better job in the three quarters afterward, but part of that had to do with the Celtics playing more through center Al Horford which allowed Boston to control the tempo.

ATTACK THOMAS MORE IN THE POST

Isaiah Thomas has been posted up more than any other guard in the playoffs, which is understandable considering he’s 5-foot-9 and most of the players trying to take him in the paint are 6-4 or taller. Look for them to try and go to it more often as a means of not only potentially getting scores but also making Thomas work harder defensively and increase the likelihood of him picking up some fouls. But to Thomas’ credit, he has made it tougher to score on him than they bargained for by holding his own physically while getting a help defender tilting towards him or coming with a full-blown double team.

GET A BODY ON SMART

Lost in all the hoopla and love doled out to Avery Bradley (playoff career-high 29 points in Game 5) and Al Horford (19 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three blocks) for delivering strong games, was the play of Marcus Smart, who wound up with a playoff career-high 11 rebounds. Smart’s ability to crash the defensive boards helped to limit the number of second-chance opportunities Washington had. In addition, it allowed the Celtics to get out and attack more than usual in transition which was instrumental in Boston getting off to such a fast start that put the blowout victory into motion. Smart also had nine points with six assists and not a single turnover.

LOOK TO RUN…A LOT

Taking what the defense gives you is a common phrase you hear players and coaches say. But what do you do when the defense doesn’t give you anything? That happened to Washington in Game 5 and they looked completely befuddled. They are at their best in transition, but Boston’s rebounding success and low turnover numbers made getting out on the break extremely difficult. Look for the Wizards to try and push the tempo, even after made shots by the Celtics. They have a better understanding now that they can’t rely on turning the ball over as the only mechanism by which they can score in transition.

BRADLEY ON THE RADAR

With so much attention being paid to Isaiah Thomas, you had to figure at some point another Celtic would break through. It was Avery Bradley, who had a playoff career-high 29 points in Boston’s Game 5 win. No one expects Bradley to be that prolific scoring in Game 6. But knowing he does have that in him, don’t be surprised if he gets a little more attention from the Wizards defense in Game 6 which may open things up for Thomas to become more like the guy who dropped 28.9 points per game this year, which was tops among all Eastern Conference players.

RUN CELTICS OFF 3-POINT LINE

It has long been established that the Celtics are a 3-point shooting team on more nights than not. That was among the many keys to their Game 5 win, a game where Boston’s long-range shooters made 16 of 33 3’s (48.5 percent). When the Celtics are hitting the long ball and doing what they normally do, which is take a ton of them, they become unstoppable. “That is one of the strengths of our team,” said Avery Bradley. “We have a lot of guys that can fill it up on any given night and it just happened to be [Game 5].” Look for the Wizards to be a bit more aggressive in their close-outs to the 3-point line, which would likely force the Celtics to either continue swinging the ball for a shot inside the arc or take more contested 3’s.